Sources: Aaron Hernandez Investigated in Two More Murders

(BOSTON) -- Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is being investigated for possible involvement in a drive-by shooting that left two men dead in Boston last year, ABC News has learned.

On July 15, 2012 a car was ambushed with a barrage of bullets at the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Herald Street in Boston's South End. According to a Boston Police report, when officers responded at 2 a.m., they "located three individuals suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Two of the victims were pronounced deceased on scene."

One of the dead men was found behind the wheel, cops reported. The other was in the front passenger seat. The third victim was treated at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

The slain men were later identified as Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu, 29, and Safiro Teixeira Furtado, 28, both of Dorchester, Mass.

Witnesses described to cops a grey SUV-style vehicle with Rhode Island plates seen fleeing the scene after the men were shot.

The drive-by shooting erupted hours after Hernandez was witnessed in a nightclub altercation, ABC News has learned.

Hernandez, charged Wednesday with murdering a friend in a dispute earlier this month, is scheduled to be back in court on Thursday, when his attorneys argue he should be released on bail.

His alleged involvement in the earlier shooting was described by four sources. Prosecutors say that shooting began with a dispute at a nightclub.

In between his early-morning arrest and afternoon court appearance on Wednesday, the Patriots released Hernandez.

Boston police declined to discuss the tight end's role in the earlier shooting. His attorney has not replied to a request for comment.

Hernandez spent the night in jail after being charged with first-degree murder and weapons offenses after prosecutors accused him of "orchestrating" the execution of Odin Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player from Boston.

A second man, Carlos Ortiz of Bristol, Conn., has been arrested in connection with the Lloyd killing but officials have so far refused to explain Ortiz's role.